Silver Shield Act of 2025

Silver Shield Act of 2025 would create a new oversight program, the Silver Shield Operational End-Use Monitoring Program, to track how U.S.-origin defense articles and services are actually used after they are sold, leased, transferred, or exported. Within one year of enactment, the President would establish this program under the State Department, with DoD involvement, to determine whether U.S.-origin defense items are used to inflict civilian harm or violate international humanitarian or human rights law. If credible evidence suggests such misuse, the bill would require ineligibility determinations for the relevant recipient and would impose a 180-day timeline to complete those determinations. The bill also tightens requirements for arms sales and foreign assistance by mandating written end-use agreements with recipient governments or organizations and updating eligibility criteria to bar transfers that would facilitate serious IHL/HRL violations. It would fund and report on the program, and embed lessons from existing end-use monitoring programs. Sponsors include Rep. Jacobs and several co-sponsors, with the act currently introduced and referred to the Foreign Affairs Committee.